Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua disclosed on Monday, December 01, that an unnamed magistrate saved him from a potential 50-year jail term in what he described as a plot by the previous Uhuru Kenyatta administration to confiscate his Ksh12.4 billion fortune and imprison him.
Addressing inmates during New Year celebrations at Nyeri Maximum Security Prison, Gachagua accused former Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) head, George Kinoti, of orchestrating false charges against him.
“Kinoti was very notorious, but we have forgiven him. He fabricated charges, alleging my Ksh12.4 billion was from criminal sources. They pressured the magistrate to sentence me for 50 years,” Gachagua alleged.
They pressured the magistrate to sentence me for 50 years
Former Mathira MP, and current Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua
Reportedly, the magistrate, recognizing the political nature of the case, delayed proceedings until after the 2022 general election, indicating doubts about the allegations against Gachagua.
Gachagua also stated that Kinoti failed to substantiate the origins of the Ksh12.4 billion and insisted, “He demanded I be jailed first, allowing an appeal afterward.”
The Deputy President asserted that both the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and DCI investigators acknowledged the false nature of the charges, supporting the postponement of the case.
Gachagua later explained that the Ksh12.4 billion accusation stemmed from a misinterpretation of his accrued bank balance by a National Police Service corporal, who mistakenly calculated his long-term savings as illicit gains.
Earlier in 2021, DP Gachagua contended that his political affiliation with then-Deputy President William Ruto led to persecution. On 23rd July 2021, he was arrested at his Mathira home early in the morning at 5am.
His lawyer at the time, Wahome Gikonyo, mentioned that the 15 detectives who apprehended Gachagua offered no explanation for his arrest.
Additionally, a former Ministry of Lands director, John Ohas, accused Gachagua of fraudulent land acquisition and transferring Ohas’s property to Gachagua’s company without permission.
“He trespassed and interfered with my land ownership by colluding to unlawfully transfer it to his company,” Ohas alleged.
Meanwhile, Gachagua at the time also faced legal pursuit by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) for allegedly holding over Sh200 million believed to be illicit funds. However, upon assuming the role of deputy president, the case was dropped, and the funds were returned to him.
